Thursday: After my 9-10 hour day on campus, I am always SO ready to do anything but school. I don't usually get home from school until around 7, which is a bummer. But I mean, I guess I'll suffer during the 3 days a week I have class in order to have a 4 day weekend every weekend. Best decision ever. As I have said before, the best way to meet people is to walk home from school. I never end up walking alone as I always make friends along the way. I was crossing the street next to a guy who was wearing no shoes and pushing a grocery cart home from the store, and he asked me which school I went to in the states after seeing my Jesuit backpack (which broke and is currently being held together by safety pins... I know, super classy). Turns out he is an American as well but is studying abroad here for the year. I guess if you are here for long enough then you really adopt their ways because I was 100% sure he was an Aussie based on his appearance. It's always that darn accent that gives you away. He has been here for like 6 months already so he knows his way around pretty well and knows all the fun things to do, so he asked if I was "keen to go to a rugby game with him and some mates" that weekend. Why yes, I would love to. Said goodbye to my new friend and stopped at the beach to watch the sun go down and watch the waves for a while. Made dinner with my roommates (pasta, as usual. We use our mad skills to alternate between that and chicken every other night) and then went out to the Coogee Bay Hotel with a big group. Ended up with different people than I got there with and made some great new friends.
There is something about:
A) being a psych major that makes people feel comfortable unleashing their entire life story to you. I swear, as soon as you say "I'm a psych major" (the first question asked when meeting someone new: "where are you from?" the second: "what do you study?" always.) people just want to tell you their problems, something difficult they are going through, traumatic childhood stories, their entire life story, etc. Not that I mind whatsoever. In fact, that is what I thrive on. It's the reason I love my major. I love meeting new people and finding out what makes them unique.
B) studying abroad that makes people who have never met before become best friends over night. I honestly feel like I know some of these people better than I know people back at SMU. I have only known them for a month, some for a week or even days... But being in a completely foreign country where you don't know anyone else forces people to bond and find ways to connect. It so facto, you become a little family and learn to depend on each other since that's all you've got. You tell people things you normally wouldn't until you really trust them and know them. You hear other people's life stories and learn what makes them who they are. There is just something about being abroad that makes everyone open up and really be themselves. It is so refreshing. No one has any shame or anything to lose or anyone to judge them. I love it. I love every single person I have met so far. So many interesting people with such interesting stories and lives.
Essentially the night ended with a deep chat with new friends on the beach looking at the stars. It really doesn't get much better than that.
Friday:
Cleaned the house-vacuumed for the first time (gross), did the dishes, wiped down the counters... man it really needed it. Worked out, skyped my parents, had lunch. Then headed out to the beach. Truly a gorgeous afternoon. Ended up at five o's and ate chips (fries) and laughed and just enjoyed the company of great friends. At a really healthy and gourmet dinner with my roommates consisting of white rice and a baked potato.... carbs much? My roommates went to the Blue Mountains earlier that day and rock climbed. They repelled down the mountain and went through waterfalls and all that. Sounded so awesome! I had a great time hearing their stories (Kristin got tangled and ended up upside down on the mountain and had to figure out how to make herself right side up before continuing to repel down the mountain) while eating dinner. Crashed pretty early that night.
Saturday:
Happy St. Patty's Day! Our original plan was to go to the Paddington Saturday Market, but it was pouring. So we went over to a friend's apartment instead to celebrate. Listened to Irish music and escaped the rain for a while. Had dinner at five o's (again... they really need to get some other cheap places to eat around here). Headed to the Rocks that night with a big group. I represented the west coast well and wore my flannel out. It was great. First went to the Mercantile Hotel pub and met lots of Irish people. There was a live band playing such American music-it was hilarious. Highlights were probably Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana and Time Of Your Life by Green Day. Went to Bar100 after that to dance. Once again, all American music. Can't say I didn't love it! All my favorite upbeat popular songs were played and I had the time of my life. You all know how much I love dancing! I am so short so I found a stool to stand on for a while so I could see everyone and was dancing on it and I got asked by security to come down... embarrassing... Oh well! It got so hot in there that I ended up having to tie my flannel up like a cowgirl. Guess I had to represent Texas a little bit too. A few people from our group went to Pancakes at the Rocks to get breakfast for dinner-heard it was pretty delicious. I walked to the bus stop with some other friends and ended up meeting every other kid studying abroad in Australia there. Must have been the last bus home for the night. We saw the opera house, which was lit up green in honor of the holiday on the walk to the bus-so gorgeous. Such a fun day, but sooo long. I was definitely exhausted and ready to sleep by the time I got home.
Sunday:
Went to the Sydney Roosters v. Canberra Raiders rugby game this afternoon with the shopping cart boy, his roommate, and my neighbor. My neighbor and the guy's roommate ended up getting free tickets-this lady just went up to them and said she had two extra tickets she couldn't use. I, unfortunately, had to pay for my ticket. It was only $20 at least. I have never been one to have good luck like that... Oh well! It took a little bit of time to understand the rules (thank you freshman year of high school P.E. and Mr. Nicholas for giving me a little bit of background), but it was so much fun. The legs on the men that play are HUGE. Both of my legs together are easily smaller than one of their thighs. The game was really fast paced-there are never any time outs or points where the game stops-it just keeps on moving. The Sydney Roosters won-yay! I'm now a bandwagon fan and almost bought some gear. It was a gorgeous day. It was great to relax and sit in the sun and enjoy some authentic Australian culture. I went to my favorite thai restaurant for dinner with my girls when I got home and got 30 cent ice cream cones at Macca's (McDonald's). Ended the night by jamming to 90's music with my roommates once we discovered S Club 7 is coming to UNSW to perform in June. I loved watching that show as a kid so this is basically my childhood DREAM come true (I hope you catch the reference to one of their songs from that..).
I am absolutely exhausted, so thankfully I don't have classes tomorrow. I can't wait to sleep in. It was such an amazing weekend, but it went by so fast! I absolutely love it here... This really isn't real life. I'm in Sydney, Australia right now!? I have to take a step back sometimes and thank God for this incredible opportunity.
I apologize for the length of some of these posts-this is serving as a journal for me, in a sort of way... I can't wait to reread them all when I get back home.
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